Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday expressed concerns over an alarming 22.8 million out-of-school children, with a disproportionate number being girls, in Pakistan.
Addressing a meeting of the visiting ministers and authorities of education from various Muslim countries, the prime minister expressed gratitude to them for their participation in the two-day International Conference on Girls’ Education in Muslim Communities: Challenges and Opportunities.
PM Shehbaz expressed his optimism that the current ongoing international conference on girls’ education would go a long way and help them put their acts together to promote education among females in the Islamic countries.
He said Pakistan faced different challenges in promoting education for girls.
The premier referred to his earlier speech in the conference wherein he had highlighted the significance of female education as emphasised upon by the Islamic teachings and the instructions of the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him).
He said that they were ready to share their experience with the relevant authorities in the education sector, adding a committee had been formed in the country over reforms in this sector which was also coordinating with all the provinces.
Speaking on the occasion, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said that the government had undertaken a number of reforms in the education sector. Their goals were compatible with the funding and the budget allocation.
He said that they were looking forward to working with the Muslim countries in future. Federal ministers, secretaries and senior officials were also present in the meeting.
Representatives, ministers from Turkiye, Somalia, Kurdistan, Malaysia and Maldives also spoke on the occasion and thanked the government of Pakistan for the warm hospitality and taking initiative in the female education sector and bringing the Muslim countries to share their expertise and ensuring promotion of education for girls.
‘We owe it to our mothers, daughters’
Earlier today, PM Shehbaz stressed that girls’ education is a cause worth fighting for, investing in, and advocating passionately.
Opening the two-day conference on girls’ education, the PM called for collective efforts to develop scalable and sustainable solutions for girls’ education.
The event, which is hosting approximately 150 delegates from 47 countries, aims to identify actionable solutions to the barriers hindering education for girls in these communities.
PM Shehbaz said millions of young girls over the next decade will enter the job market, emphasising they have the potential not just to lift themselves, their families and nations out of poverty but also to enrich the global economy.
He said we owe it to our mothers, sisters, and daughters to ensure that their rights are respected, their ambitions are fulfilled, and that no cultural inhibitions stand in the way of achieving their dreams.
The prime minister said that despite our rich legacy, the Muslim world including Pakistan faces significant challenges in ensuring equitable access to education for girls.
He noted that denying education to girls is tantamount to denying them their voice and choice while depriving them of their right to a bright future.
He pointed out that in Pakistan, women make up more than half of the total population, yet the female literacy rate stands at only 49%.
The premier said a major step towards addressing education disparities in Pakistan was the establishment of Daanish schools, a unique initiative introduced to provide quality education to unprivileged children in rural and under-developed areas.
He said this initiative is now being replicated in far-flung regions of Pakistan, paving the way for a promising and more inclusive future.
Through the government’s flagship youth program, he said, the government is committed to providing quality education, creating jobs and offering meaningful opportunities which include scholarships and vocational training in demand-driven skills.
Malala Yousafzai joins global summit
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai has also joined a global summit on the education of Muslim girls. The two-day conference hosted by Pakistan has brought together education officials from dozens of Muslim-majority countries.
“I’m truly honoured, overwhelmed and happy to be back in Pakistan,” she told AFP as she arrived at the conference with her parents.
“The Muslim world including Pakistan faces significant challenges in ensuring equitable access to education for girls,” Education Minister Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui told AFP that Islamabad had extended an invitation to Kabul, “but no one from the Afghan government was at the conference”.
— With additional input from APP/AFP
Tama Drews
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